Luke 7:11-13 Soon afterwards, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out-the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, "Don't cry." (NIV)
Jesus was on time for His next Divine appointment: the first of three occasions when He raised the dead. After a day's walk south-west from Capernaum, He approached Nain in a joyful procession with His disciples and many others. Just then, another large procession was coming out of the town. The unmistakable sound of wailing announced the funeral. Was this a rather embarrassing accident of timing - what would Jesus do? Surely He was too late to help.
The sense of tragedy unfolded as it became clear that the woman next to the coffin was a widow, accompanying the body of her only son to the burial site. She had lost everything, and now had nobody to support her or provide for her old age. But Jesus was full of compassion; He felt her hurt and was visibly grieved by the woman's hopelessness, even though He had arrived specifically to meet her need. By saying, "Don't cry", the Master was not offering a meaningless platitude to crush the cultural habit of loud weeping: He wanted her eyes to be dry so that she could see what He was about to do - bringing her son back to life.
We are often so consumed with our own lives, that we cannot see how the Lord wants to work in our circumstances. Hopelessness easily overtakes us as our little worlds implode. But that is because we are not expecting the Lord to be there, be concerned, be powerful or be on time. We may know comforting Scriptures but fail to believe that God is in control. We allow Satan to hook us onto misery as he pulls us into despair. But the truth is that Jesus is here, He does care, He is powerful and He knows just the right time to express His authority. His comfort is real because it announces the release of His power and joy in the future. Those who trust in Him have no need to be limited by the little horizons of failure and disaster. Family crises, workplace nightmares, relationship disasters, financial impossibilities and even death all find their answer in Christ. The Jesus who said, "Don't cry", has the power to bring His answer in His time.
The sense of tragedy unfolded as it became clear that the woman next to the coffin was a widow, accompanying the body of her only son to the burial site. She had lost everything, and now had nobody to support her or provide for her old age. But Jesus was full of compassion; He felt her hurt and was visibly grieved by the woman's hopelessness, even though He had arrived specifically to meet her need. By saying, "Don't cry", the Master was not offering a meaningless platitude to crush the cultural habit of loud weeping: He wanted her eyes to be dry so that she could see what He was about to do - bringing her son back to life.
We are often so consumed with our own lives, that we cannot see how the Lord wants to work in our circumstances. Hopelessness easily overtakes us as our little worlds implode. But that is because we are not expecting the Lord to be there, be concerned, be powerful or be on time. We may know comforting Scriptures but fail to believe that God is in control. We allow Satan to hook us onto misery as he pulls us into despair. But the truth is that Jesus is here, He does care, He is powerful and He knows just the right time to express His authority. His comfort is real because it announces the release of His power and joy in the future. Those who trust in Him have no need to be limited by the little horizons of failure and disaster. Family crises, workplace nightmares, relationship disasters, financial impossibilities and even death all find their answer in Christ. The Jesus who said, "Don't cry", has the power to bring His answer in His time.
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